NextGen Voices: Women Shaping Security and Peace Following S.1141

Posted by Young Professionals in Foreign Policy on January 29, 2018

Policymakers have begun to realize the critical role women play in mediation, conflict resolution, and rebuilding nations. Seventeen years after the United Nations adopted Resolution 1325 urging governments to increase the participation of women in United Nations peace and security efforts, the United States passed S.1141: Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017.

Join YPFP and Women in International Security (WIIS) for a discussion with Brooke Stedman and William Scheffer on what the recent passage of S.1141means for foreign policy and national security, both today and going forward. The event will be moderated by YPFP's own Pinky Mehta, who wrote about this legislation in YPFP's online journal Charged Affairs.

Brooke Stedman joined SCG in 2018 as a Senior Program Officer to lead SCG’s project on strategic capacity building and community engagement with the Liberian National Police. Ms. Stedman is a 2018 National Security Fellow at the Center for New American Security (CNAS) and was a 2017 National Security Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Prior to joining SCG, Ms. Stedman served as the Deputy Director of Women In International Security (WIIS), where she managed international programs to build capacity within security forces and promote enhanced communication and greater trust between the military and civilians. At the United States Institute of Peace Ms. Stedman coordinated U.S. government interagency planning efforts to develop programs that increased peacebuilding capabilities and ensured alignment with broader U.S. national security interests, including the full participation of women in conflict and post-conflict societies. She also has extensive experience in international law with a focus on criminal law, humanitarian law, and international human rights law.

William Scheffer, Legislative Assistant at the Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen

Will Scheffer is a Legislative Assistant for Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), responsible for Senator Shaheen’s work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Appropriations State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee. On Senator Shaheen’s behalf, Will led negotiations in 2017 to secure congressional passage of the Women, Peace and Security Act. Prior to joining Senator Shaheen’s staff, Will worked on the campaign of Senator Angus King (I-Maine) in 2012. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a native of New Hampshire.

Pinky Mehta is an associate at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, where she advises clients on litigation, arbitration, and regulatory matters, including economic sanctions, anti-bribery laws, and export control laws and regulations. Ms. Mehta also maintains a robust pro bono practice that includes work on international human rights issues. She previously worked at the Global Justice Center, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the US Mission to the United Nations, the US Agency for International Development, and the US Department of Justice. Ms. Mehta received a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, with a certificate in Human Rights from Penn SAS and a certificate in Business Economics and Public Policy from the Wharton School. She received a BA in Political Science with a minor in Economics from Haverford College, and she spent her junior year at the London School of Economics.

This event will be on-the-record.

* The views and opinions expressed by these panelists are strictly personal, and do not reflect the views and opinions of their affiliated organizations or employers.